Kreher Preserve is a local demonstration forest owned and operated by Auburn's College of Forestry - after looking for local herping hotspots, I decided to make a trip there. I pretty quickly realized it was split into two major zones, separated by a power line easement and shrubbier, wildflower-laden corridor. I elected to tour the southern half and the corridor. I immediately realized that this was a place I would have to come back to, with fleeting daylight hours. Do you ever visit a park or natural area and get the feeling that there's a lot there left to explore and species hiding just out of reach? That's about how I felt with Kreher. Still, managed to find an absolutely massive mealworm-like grub which was later identified as a click beetle larva, a lifer Green Frog, another Northern Slimy Salamander, a pair of Indigo Buntings and even a lifer Prairie Warbler right as the sun set! Also an absolutely massive Gallinipper mosquito, which, in the low light, looked jet-black. Looked like something right out of the Carboniferous period.
A few days before I stayed at Lake Martin and found the usual geese and a very bold Mallard, as well as the first Osprey of the year - one of my favorite raptors. When I returned home, I found a flock of Chimney Swifts.
Birds:
61. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – 4/14/24
62. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) – 4/14/24
63. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) – 4/14/24
64. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) – 4/16/24
65. Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) – 4/16/24
Amphibians:
7. Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) – 4/16/24
Invertebrates:
38. White-Striped Running Crab Spider (Philodromus rufus) – 4/14/24
39. Buzzer Midge (Chironomus plumosus) – 4/14/24
40. American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) – 4/15/24
41. Great Gray Slug (Limax maximus) – 4/16/24
42. Orthostethus infuscatus (click beetle) – 4/16/24
43. Gallinipper (Psorophora ciliata) – 4/16/24
As a small progress update on my species: I'm more than halfway to my "realistic goal" of 125 birds for the year, including 6 new lifers. I've also already seen over half the number of birds I saw last year (119). I saw 4 amphibians last year, which I've already almost doubled, and have beaten my "realistic goal" of 6, and am 3 away from my goal of 10 (this includes 4 new lifers). I've only seen 1 new reptile this year, but not for lack of trying.
This weekend I'll be going down to Navarre Beach - I'll be getting in the water and seeing what fish I can spot, as well as bringing binoculars and the spotting scope to try and see some coastal birds and marine mammals.
A few days before I stayed at Lake Martin and found the usual geese and a very bold Mallard, as well as the first Osprey of the year - one of my favorite raptors. When I returned home, I found a flock of Chimney Swifts.
Birds:
61. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – 4/14/24
62. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) – 4/14/24
63. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) – 4/14/24
64. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) – 4/16/24
65. Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) – 4/16/24
Amphibians:
7. Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) – 4/16/24
Invertebrates:
38. White-Striped Running Crab Spider (Philodromus rufus) – 4/14/24
39. Buzzer Midge (Chironomus plumosus) – 4/14/24
40. American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) – 4/15/24
41. Great Gray Slug (Limax maximus) – 4/16/24
42. Orthostethus infuscatus (click beetle) – 4/16/24
43. Gallinipper (Psorophora ciliata) – 4/16/24
As a small progress update on my species: I'm more than halfway to my "realistic goal" of 125 birds for the year, including 6 new lifers. I've also already seen over half the number of birds I saw last year (119). I saw 4 amphibians last year, which I've already almost doubled, and have beaten my "realistic goal" of 6, and am 3 away from my goal of 10 (this includes 4 new lifers). I've only seen 1 new reptile this year, but not for lack of trying.
This weekend I'll be going down to Navarre Beach - I'll be getting in the water and seeing what fish I can spot, as well as bringing binoculars and the spotting scope to try and see some coastal birds and marine mammals.
